Rupa and the April Fishes: The Bay Area Bicycle Tour

Rupa and the April Fishes, a world music group from San Francisco, will use bicycles to tour the San Francisco Bay Area from April 19th through April 28th. Concert venues include Stanford University, San Jose Bike Party (April Theme: The Sharks Ride), the Center for Sustainable Living in Oakland, and a show for prison inmates at the San Quentin Penitentiary.

In celebration of Earth Week 2012, Rupa and the April Fishes will join with bike touring music veterans “Shake Your Peace!” to present the BAY RISING TOUR – pedaling their bicycles 200 miles around the entire perimeter of the San Francisco Bay. They’ll perform concerts with a bicycle-powered sound system that converts the leg-power of volunteer pedalers from the audience into electricity to run the sound system.

Rupa April Fishes Bay Area Tour 2012

The 10-stop tour will include performances in traditional music venues and guerilla art spaces. The bands will head south from San Francisco to kick it off on April 19th at Stanford University and will proceed counterclockwise around the Bay. Key stops include the SJ Bike Party, the Center for Sustainable Living in Oakland, a teach-in with local elementary schools examining water quality in Richmond, a ceremony at Glen Cove paying homage to the original Ohlone inhabitants, a dance party up in Sausalito and a show for prison inmates at the San Quentin Penitentiary. The tour will conclude with a Saturday night concert at the Independent on April 28th in San Francisco, where folks can bring their bike helmets to the merchandise table to receive a free poster by SF artist Hugh D’Andrade.

The purpose of the tour is to give both of the bands, and those who join them on their rides between show stops, an opportunity to learn about the dynamics of the San Francisco Bay Bioregion in an adventurous, sociable, and direct way. The tour is inviting cyclists of all skill levels to join the bike rides between the tour stops; and because each of the band members will be hauling up to 100 lbs of musical equipment behind them on bike trailers, no one is likely to be left behind.

Bay Rising Tour Dates and locations:

    Thu/April-19 – Stanford University – Palo Alto, CA

    Fri/April-20 – SJ Bike Party – San Jose, CA

    Sat/April-21 – Fremont Earth Day Grounds – Fremont, CA

    Sun/April-22 – Earth Day Party @ The Center For Sustainable Living – Oakland, CA

    Mon/April-23 – Keller Beach Park – Richmond, CA

    Tue/April-24 – Beaver Liberation Show in Town Center – Martinez, CA

    Wed/April-25 – Glen Cove Ceremony by Ohlone Leaders – Vallejo, CA

    Thu/April-26 – Arizmendi – San Rafael, CA

    Fri/April-27 – Seahorse – Sausalito, CA

    Sat/April-28 – The Independent – San Francisco, CA

Rupa and the April Fishes publicity photo by Hilary Hulteen

Learn more and listen more at the April Fishes website.

4 Comments

  1. • Coincidence? … or conspiracy?  Their album cover artwork looks suspiciously like some posters I’ve seen for the S.F. Ride Not Called Bike Party.

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